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Opening a draft service in ArcGIS for Desktop

Using ArcGIS for Desktop, you can quickly open a draft service or draft service definition. For simplicity, a draft service or draft service definition will be referred to as a draft for the remainder of this topic.

To get started, follow these steps.

  1. Follow the directions in the table below based on where your draft is saved:

    OptionDescription

    If you want to open a draft that was configured for a specific ArcGIS Server connection…

    …double-click the connection in ArcCatalog or the Catalog window and expand the Drafts folder.

    If you want to open a draft that was configured with no available connection to ArcGIS Server…

    …browse to the draft in ArcCatalog or the Catalog window.

  2. Right-click the draft and choose Open Draft. The Service Editor opens, revealing where you left off during your last session.
    Note:

    If the GIS resource used to create the draft is not currently open, you'll be prompted to save your current work. Once you save your work, the GIS resource referenced in the draft is opened automatically.

  3. From this point, you can continue your work, such as analyzing for errors, writing an item description, defining a caching schema, and so on. Additionally, you can make changes to the map document, globe document, or other GIS resource associated with your draft using the tools in ArcGIS for Desktop.
    Tip:

    To give yourself more viewing area when configuring your draft, click the Collapse button Collapse at the top of the Service Editor.